Viewpoint: A shutdown in D.C., just when things were looking so good

Oh well, two steps forward, one step back. Less than two months after Greater Washington basked in the glow of Amazon HQ2, enjoying front-page coverage about our talented workforce and appealing quality of life, we…

Oh well, two steps forward, one step back.

Less than two months after Greater Washington basked in the glow of Amazon HQ2, enjoying front-page coverage about our talented workforce and appealing quality of life, we are once again the laughingstock of the nation, if not the world.

Our dysfunction is on display for all to see, one painful tweet or finger-wagging ultimatum at a time. Our contractors can’t pay their workers. Small businesses that rely on federal workers as customers face the threat of closure. Our tourism industry is less in the hospitality business and more in the damage control space. The trash is piling up, literally and figuratively.

Our region has long been a pawn in a political quagmire that seems to only get worse with each passing year, but it’s extra painful this time around because it directly neutralizes all the goodwill we gained by winning Amazon — not only winning Amazon, but also welcoming it with open arms, one region agreeing to cooperate to lay out…